A little background on the two of us, we are a mother-daughter pair who decided
to take this cruise both because it left out of NYC and because of the unique
islands it stopped at. Mom (Sarah) has been on dozens of cruises while this was
the forth for me (Taryn). Mom is 51, I turned 26 on the cruise. Mom says: I’ve
been on Cunard, Carnival, Holland America and Celebrity. All of those cruises
were enjoyable and the lines seem to have their own personalities. Now that I've
cruised Norwegian I love the Spirit just as much.

Embarkation:

Sarah says: This was by far the easiest embarkation I've gone through (even
faster than when I mistakenly went through the Captain's Club line on my first
Celebrity cruise). I was handed a form to fill out for Tortola, and I was at the
check-in desk before I could even complete it! There seemed to be an abundance
of Norwegian staff which made the lines go very quickly. (Carnival should take
note. I have waited in their lines for over an hour).

Taryn says: The Spirit is absolutely beautiful. From the dark woods to the lush
red carpeting, it is just beautiful. The Asian décor is unique, and sets it
apart from other run of the mill ships. Also, since it’s a bit older, the
exterior is not as boxy-looking like the newer all-balcony Carnival and RCCL
ships.

Favorite spots on the ship were Galaxy of the Stars (so peaceful during the day
that many people napped while sitting along the windows looking out at the
ocean) and Maharini’s nightclub (apparently NCL spent 1 million dollars to
refurbish this room alone, and it shows.)

Sarah says: The Spirit is very beautiful. The Asian influence is striking, and I
hope Norwegian is not going to follow through with plans to redecorate it to
look like all the other ships. This ship has a history and should remain Asian!
The main pool area was very nice with the largest ship pool I've seen in the
middle. I don't have young children, but the children's pool area in the back
looked like a lot of fun.

Our Room:

Sarah says: Most of the previous reviewers were balcony or suite passengers. If
you are traveling steerage, don't dismay! We "bunked with the crew" on Deck 4
(some people were surprised there were passengers that far down!) But I loved
the location. It was very quiet and very smooth. We were right next to the
gangway so disembarking on port days was a breeze (and we could easily sneak
contraband alcohol into our room). The room itself was usual for a cruise ship.
Thanks Cruise Critic posters for suggesting the shoe caddy, it helped keep
things organized.

Taryn says: Our room stewardess was wonderful. She was very soft-spoken, but
extremely sweet. She knew our names by the first night, and she even helped my
mother decorate the outside of our room for my birthday.

Entertainment:

Taryn says: The difference between the amount of activities offered during the
night and during the daytime was, well, night and day. During the day,
especially days at sea, there was very little planned to do. While this would
have been fine if it was warm enough outside to sit by the pool, that wasn’t the
case on the trip down or back for the most part. Honestly, it got to be pretty
boring some days. What was offered usually had an additional fee, the only
fitness classes were either at 8am and only half an hour long, or $15 per
session. The night time schedule, however, was wonderful. Often times we had so
many things we wanted to do that we had to schedule dinner somewhere in between.
The guest entertainment was great, especially Dr. Trance (the adults only show
was absolutely hilarious). Nightly trivia in Henry’s pub was fun on the nights
that Chris hosted, and we walked away with tons of NCL merchandise. But the
highlight? The ship n’ dales show. Billed as “our complete mockery of the Chip
n’ Dales,” it was anything but. Most of our cruise staff participated, and
stripped won to their skivvies. One even gave my mother a lap dance!

Sarah says: There were not enough activities planned during the day (napkin
folding???). There were lots of fun things to do in the evening and sometimes it
was difficult to schedule dinner because of this! Trivia was at Henry's Pub
every nightday at 6:00 (hello to team members John, Mimi, Susan, and sometimes
Arlene). One night was movie trivia. There were nightly activities in the Galaxy
of the Stars including the Shipendales (for future women cruisers: don't miss
this, and bring a few dollars!) The Murder Mystery dinner was very fun (and
free). (Greenie, I understand you were there - which team were you on? We were
Group 2). One night was the pub crawl with fun and games for all over 21, even
middle ages women like me. The cruise staff (Julie, my favorite Chris Service,
Fergie, John, and Adrian) were very involved in the evening activities and
offered a lot of fun.

Food:

Sarah says: This varied. Raffles had better quality for breakfast and lunch than
I expected, from previous reviews. (And we DID have trays, which people on the
recent cruise said they did not). We ate in Windows for breakfast a few times
which was much more peaceful than Raffles. The outside B-B-Q was good (ribs and
things). Raffles has a daily tea and this was very tasty, with small sandwiches
and cakes and scones. (We missed the chocolate buffet because our dance class
lasted too long.) Dinner in Windows and Garden varied from "There's nothing here
to eat" (thus choosing salmon which is always offered) to some meals being
pretty good. My suggestion for Norwegian is to seat people with others if it is
requested. One of the joys of cruising is getting to know others (plus my
daughter and I were getting tired to talking to each other). Our request didn't
work as well as we hoped: the first night we sat with an elderly man who was
hard of hearing, another time our tablemates were foreigners with a limited
command of the English language, a few times we sat alone. By the way, I didn't
think the wait for a table was unreasonable. The first few days everyone wanted
to go to Windows or Garden and we waited about 20 minutes tops. By the third
night we could get in immediately anywhere.

Taryn says: There was a joke at my college that we were the only campus where
food was so bad that students actually lost the freshman 15. I think NCL may
have hired the SUNY Fredonia kitchen staff. Tapenyaki and Cagney’s were great
meals, but they better be when you’re paying a $15 or $20 cover per person ($25
at Cagney’s the night we went). So the food was pretty awful, but honestly,
that’s not why you’re on a cruise anyways. Just think of it as a jump-start to
your diet. Also, I really did not care for the entire Freestyle cruising
concept. It was a great idea for people traveling with friends, but for my
mother and I, we usually ended up sitting just the two of us. I really did miss
getting to know tablemates and serving staff that traditional dining offers.

Taryn says: Just terrific. St. Martin and St. Thomas you’ll do a dozen times if
you cruise often, but Antigua, Tortola and Barbados were a real treat. Just
beautiful. Also, we always docked and never tendered, so getting on and off the
ship was a breeze.

Sarah says: St. Thomas - We went on a walking tour, and I got us lost. . .At
least we got to see alleyways that most people don't! Blackbeard's Castle was
closed since it was Sunday afternoon. We saw beautiful flowers and huge iguanas
during the walk. Antigua - We booked Pineapple Beach (due to recommendations on
Cruise Critic) and shared a taxi with Susan and Barb, whom we met on Cruise
Critic. It was an ideal beach day on an ideal beach. For $50, we got breakfast
buffet, lunch, and open bar. Unfortunately our taxi driver Tucker never returned
for us. We shopped briefly upon our return to the port. I watched a woman making
jewelry and the prices were excellent ($4 for earrings). Again we went on a
walking tour and again I got us lost. . .so Taryn took my map away. Barbados -
We paid $75 for two for a tour of the island (Sunbury Plantation and Bathsheba).
A vendor said "That's why we don't like cheap Englishmen" when I wouldn't buy
his jewelry - we are not even English. I don't think our driver liked us either,
he seemed pretty bored by our trip. Malibu Beach was very nice, and shopping at
the port terminal was pretty good. St. Maarten: Susan and Barb went with us to
the Divi Resort. We paid $4/person for the taxi (the taxi system in St. Maarten
is extremely organized). Chairs at the Divi were $5. The beach was nice but
crowded because some ship tours came there (at a much higher price than we
paid). Then we went to Charlotte Amalie for lunch along the bay (excellent meal
by the way at a cost of $8 for ribs and fries). This is my favorite shopping
place for linens and liquor (although I seldom drink, I could spend hours in the
liquor store looking at the cheap prices!) Tortola: Unfortunately we were only
there from 7:00 AM - 1:00 PM. It is such a beautiful island and much less
commercial than the other ports. Our island/beach tour cost $20/person and took
us up the mountains and down the mountains, with spectacular scenery. We spent
an hour at Cane Garden Beach. Again beach chai!rs were $5/person. This beach was
even more crowded than the Divi because it seemed that all the tours ended up
here. It was a very pleasant way to spend an hour however.

Other:

Taryn says: Again, the ship n’ dales show for me. Of course after seeing most of
our cruise staff in their underwear, it was hard to look them in the eye for the
rest of the cruise. My only other big annoyance was the dress code. It wasn’t
just the people who decided not to dress up for dinner, but the number of people
in jeans on formal nights was staggering. Yeah, I know, it’s called “optional”
formal, but it was a bit ridiculous.

Overall:

Sarah says: I loved the Spirit and I really enjoyed meeting our Cruise Critic
ship-mates. Thanks to Bauerdog for writing all these months and getting us for
ready for vacation. Although the food on the Spirit wasn't terrific, it wasn't
much better on Carnival, Celebrity, or even Cunard (on Holland America, however.
. .) There were fun activities during the evening (daytime activities could be
improved). Now I have to plan my next cruise!

Taryn says: We had incredibly smooth seas, met some great friends (through CC
boards, of course), and stopped at some beautiful destinations. The trip was a
lot of fun. Was it upscale? Not at all. Was it memorable? Definitely. Would I
sail with NCL again? Maybe if I got a spectacular deal. For me, I’m trying
Princess next in November for my honeymoon.